Switchable two dimensional / three dimensional display

ABSTRACT

A switchable two dimensional/three dimensional display (2D/3D display) suitable for being viewed by a user is provided. The switchable 2D/3D display includes a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel and a switchable barrier which are overlapped with each other. The LCD panel has a display area, a non-display area surrounding the display area, and a first black matrix extending from the display area to the non-display area. The first black matrix has a plurality of openings arranged in array and merely distributed within the display area. The switchable barrier has a 3D image control area, a non-display area surrounding the 3D image control area, and a second black matrix merely disposed within the non-display area. The second black matrix surrounds the 3D image control area. An area occupied by the 3D image control area is different from an area occupied by the display area.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is a divisional application of and claims the priority benefit ofU.S. application Ser. No. 13/353,302, filed on Jan. 18, 2012, nowallowed. The prior U.S. application Ser. No. 13/353,302 is a divisionalapplication of and claims the priority benefit of U.S. application Ser.No. 12/326,909, filed on Dec. 3, 2008, U.S. Pat. No. 8,144,273, whichclaims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 97138935,filed on Oct. 9, 2008. The entirety of each of the above-mentionedpatent applications is hereby incorporated by reference herein and madea part of this specification.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a switchable two dimensional/threedimensional display (2D/3D display), and more particularly to aswitchable 2D/3D display equipped with a switchable barrier.

2. Description of Related Art

In recent years, continuous advancement of display technologies resultsin increasing demands on display quality of displays, such as imageresolution, color saturation, and so on. Nevertheless, in process ofpurchasing a display, whether the display is able to display 3D imagesor not is also taken into consideration in addition to high imageresolution and high color saturation.

In current 3D image display technologies, a fixed barrier is mainlyutilized for controlling images captured in respective eyes of a viewer.However, according to visual characteristics of human eyes, a 3D imagemay be produced when two images with the same content but differentparallax are respectively captured by a viewer's left and right eyes.Based on different positions of the fixed barrier, the 3D image displaytechnologies can be approximately categorized into a front barrier 3Dimage display technology and a back barrier 3D image display technology.

In the front barrier 3D image display technology, the barrier isdisposed in front of a display panel, i.e., the barrier is locatedbetween the display panel and human eyes. By contrast, in the backbarrier 3D image display technology, the barrier is disposed between abacklight source and the display panel. The front barrier 3D imagedisplay technology is further detailed in US publication number2004/0257531, while the back barrier 3D image display technology isdescribed in US publication number 2007/0229654 A1.

It should be noted that a 3D image is produced by means of the fixedbarrier in a spatial-multiplexed manner, whereby the resolution of a 3Ddisplay device is reduced in half even though a 3D display effect of aliquid crystal display (LCD) panel can be achieved. Besides, the 3Ddisplay equipped with the fixed barrier cannot be used to display 2Dimages but 3D images. Thus, the 3D display having the fixed barriercannot be extensively applied.

To resolve said issue, a switchable barrier has been proposed andapplied in a switchable 2D/3D display such that the switchable 2D/3Ddisplay is able to display 2D images when the switchable barrier isturned off. By contrast, when the switchable barrier is turned on, theswitchable 2D/3D display is able to display 3D images.

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a conventional switchable2D/3D display. Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional switchable 2D/3Ddisplay 100 includes an LCD panel 110 and a switchable barrier 120. TheLCD panel 110 has a display area 110 a, a non-display area 110 bsurrounding the display area 110 a, and a first black matrix 112extending from the display area 110 a to the non-display area 110 b. Thefirst black matrix 112 has a plurality of openings 112 a arranged inarray and merely distributed within the display area 110 a. Theswitchable barrier 120 has a 3D image control area 120 a, a non-displayarea 120 b surrounding the 3D image control area 120 a, and a secondblack matrix 122 merely disposed within the non-display area 120 b. Thesecond black matrix 122 surrounds the 3D image control area 120 a, andan area occupied by the 3D image control area 120 a is the same as anarea occupied by the display area 110 a. In other words, the area of thenon-display area 120 b is the same as the area of the non-display area110 b.

It can be deduced from FIG. 1 that an outer edge of the 3D image controlarea 120 a is aligned to an outer edge of the display area 110 a. Hence,when the conventional switchable 2D/3D display 100 is used, it is ratherperceivable that the images do not present a favorable visual effect onthe edges of the images. In particular, the second black matrix 122 isnot likely to completely block the viewer from visually perceiving thefirst black matrix 112 located on the edges of the images.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a switchable 2D/3D display whichcan display images with favorable visual effects on edges thereof.

In the present invention, a switchable 2D/3D display viewed by a userincludes an LCD panel and a switchable barrier. The LCD panel has adisplay area, a non-display area surrounding the display area, and afirst black matrix extending from the display area to the non-displayarea. The first black matrix has a plurality of openings arranged inarray and merely distributed within the display area. The switchablebarrier has a 3D image control area, a non-display area surrounding the3D image control area, and a second black matrix merely disposed withinthe non-display area. The second black matrix surrounds the 3D imagecontrol area. An area occupied by the 3D image control area is differentfrom an area occupied by the display area. The liquid crystal displaypanel and the switchable barrier are overlapped with each other.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the area occupied by thethree dimensional image control area is smaller than the area occupiedby the display area.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the second black matrix islocated above the non-display area and a portion of the display area.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the second black matrixlocated above the portion of the display area has a width W₁, and aminimum distance between the first black matrix and the second blackmatrix is D₁, wherein

W ₁ /D ₁ ≧W _(H) /D _(H).

Here, W_(H) is half of a width of the display area. D_(H) is apredetermined viewing distance substantially identical to a distancefrom eyes of the user to an inner surface of one substrate in the LCDpanel.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the liquid crystal displaypanel is disposed below the switchable barrier.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the switchable 2D/3D displayfurther includes a backlight module, and the LCD panel is interposedbetween the switchable barrier and the backlight module.

In the switchable 2D/3D display of the present invention, the switchablebarrier has a first control electrode located in the three dimensionalimage control area, and the first control electrode has a plurality ofopenings.

In the switchable 2D/3D display of the present invention, the secondblack matrix is not disposed in the three dimensional image control areaof the switchable barrier.

To make the above and other features and advantages of the presentinvention more comprehensible, several embodiments accompanied withfigures are detailed as follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings constituting a part of this specification areincorporated herein to provide a further understanding of the invention.Here, the drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, togetherwith the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a conventional switchable2D/3D display.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a switchable 2D/3D displayaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a switchable 2D/3D displayaccording to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a switchable 2D/3D displayaccording to still another embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a switchable 2D/3D displayaccording to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG.2, a switchable 2D/3D display 200 a of the present embodiment issuitable for being viewed by a user. The switchable 2D/3D display 200 aincludes an LCD panel 210 and a switchable barrier 220. The LCD panel210 has a display area 210 a, a non-display area 210 b surrounding thedisplay area 210 a, and a first black matrix 212 extending from thedisplay area 210 a to the non-display area 210 b. The first black matrix212 has a plurality of openings 212 a arranged in array and merely (ornamely only) distributed within the display area 210 a. The switchablebarrier 220 has a 3D image control area 220 a, a non-display area 220 bsurrounding the 3D image control area 220 a, and a second black matrix222 merely (or namely only) disposed within the non-display area 220 b.The second black matrix 222 surrounds the 3D image control area 220 a,and an area occupied by the 3D image control area 220 a is substantiallydifferent from an area occupied by the non-display area 220 b. As shownin FIG. 2, the switchable barrier 220 of the present embodiment isinterposed between the LCD panel 210 and the user, and an area occupiedby the 3D image control area 220 a is substantially smaller than an areaoccupied by the display area 210 a. Specifically, the second blackmatrix 222 in the switchable barrier 220 is located above thenon-display area 210 b and a portion of the display area 210 a. Inaddition, the second black matrix 222 is partially overlapped with thefirst black matrix 212 and extends inwardly from an edge of the secondblack matrix 220 with a predetermined width. Namely, an inner edge ofthe second black matrix 222 and an inner edge of the first black matrix212 are not substantially aligned to each other.

According to the present embodiment, the second black matrix 222 is aptto block the user (or namely viewer) from visually perceiving the firstblack matrix 212 located on edges of images. Thereby, unfavorable visualeffects occurring on the edges of the images can be prevented.

In the present embodiment, the LCD panel 210 is, for example, a twistednematic LCD panel, and the switchable barrier 220 is, for example, anormally white mode TN-LC cell. Particularly, the LCD panel 210 caneither be the twisted nematic LCD panel or any other LCD panel, such asa multi-domain vertically aligned (MVA) LCD panel, and so on. Theswitchable barrier 220 has a first control electrode 224 located withinthe 3D image control area 220 a, and the first control electrode 224 hasa plurality of openings 224 a.

Moreover, the switchable 2D/3D display 200 a of the present embodimentcan further include a backlight module 230, and the LCD panel 210 isinterposed between the switchable barrier 220 and the backlight module230.

In the present embodiment, the second black matrix 222 located above theportion of the display area 210 a has a width W₁, and a minimum distancebetween the first black matrix 212 and the second black matrix 222 isD₁, wherein

W ₁ /D ₁ ≧W _(H) /D _(H).

Here, W_(H) is about (or namely approximately) half of a width of the 3Dimage control area 210 a. D_(H) is a predetermined viewing distancesubstantially identical to a distance from eyes of the user to an innersurface of one substrate in the LCD panel 210. Positions of the user aremerely exemplary in the present embodiment. Besides, the insignificantthickness of a liquid crystal layer in the LCD panel 210 can bedisregarded in the present embodiment. In general, when the switchable2D/3D display 200 a is used on a monitor, the predetermined viewingdistance D_(H) ranges from about 50 cm to about 100 cm, for example.Given that the switchable 2D/3D display 200 a is applied in a TV set,the predetermined viewing distance D_(H) ranges from about 300 cm toabout 500 cm, for example. It is certain that the switchable 2D/3Ddisplay 200 a of the present embodiment can be applied in other fields,and the predetermined viewing distance D_(H) can be accordingly adjustedbased on actual demands.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a switchable 2D/3D displayaccording to another embodiment of the present invention. As shown inFIG. 3, a switchable 2D/3D display 200 b of the present embodiment issimilar to the 2D/3D display 200 a depicted in FIG. 2, while thedifference therebetween lies in that the LCD panel 210 in the switchable2D/3D display 200 b is interposed between the switchable barrier 220 andthe user (or namely viewer). Additionally, the area occupied by thedisplay area 210 a is substantially smaller than the area occupied bythe 3D image control area 220 a. In detail, the first black matrix 212is located above the non-display area 220 b and a portion of the 3Dimage control area 220 a.

According to the present embodiment, the first black matrix 212 is aptto block the user (or namely viewer) from visually perceiving the secondblack matrix 222 located on edges of images. Thereby, unfavorable visualeffects occurring on the edges of the images can be prevented.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the first black matrix 212located above the portion of the 3D image control area 220 a has a widthW₂, and a minimum distance between the first black matrix 212 and thesecond black matrix 222 is D₁, wherein

W ₂ /D ₁ ≧W _(H) /D _(H).

Here, W_(H) is about (or namely approximately) half of a width of the 3Dimage control area 220 a. D_(H) is a predetermined viewing distancesubstantially identical to a distance from eyes of the user to an innersurface of one substrate in the switchable barrier 220. Positions of theuser are merely exemplary in the present embodiment. Besides, theinsignificant thickness of a liquid crystal layer in the switchablebarrier 220 is disregarded in the present embodiment. In general, whenthe switchable 2D/3D display 200 b is used on a monitor, thepredetermined viewing distance D_(H) ranges from about 50 cm to about100 cm, for example. Given that the switchable 2D/3D display 200 b isapplied in a TV set, the predetermined viewing distance D_(H) rangesfrom about 300 cm to about 500 cm, for example. It is certain that theswitchable 2D/3D display 200 b of the present embodiment can be appliedin other fields, and the predetermined viewing distance D_(H) can beaccordingly adjusted based on actual demands.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a switchable 2D/3D displayaccording to still another embodiment of the present invention.Referring to FIG. 4, a switchable 2D/3D display 200 c of the presentembodiment includes an LCD panel 210 and a switchable barrier 220. TheLCD panel 210 has a display area 210 a, a non-display area 210 bsurrounding the display area 210 a, and a first black matrix 212extending from the display area 210 a to the non-display area 210 b. Thefirst black matrix 212 has a plurality of openings 212 a arranged inarray and merely (or namely only) distributed within the display area210 a. The switchable barrier 220 is interposed between the LCD panel210 and the user (or namely viewer). Besides, the switchable barrier 220has a 3D image control area 220 a, a switchable shielding area 220 csurrounding the 3D image control area 220 a, a non-display area 220 bsurrounding the switchable shielding area 220 c, and a second blackmatrix 222 merely (or namely only) disposed within the non-display area220 b. An area occupied by the 3D image control area 220 a issubstantially smaller than an area occupied by the display area 210 a.Detailed structures of the LCD panel 210 and the switchable barrier 220are the same as those provided in the previous embodiments, and thus nofurther description is provided herein.

It should be noted that the switchable barrier 220 of the presentembodiment has a first control electrode 224 located in the 3D imagecontrol area 220 a and a second control electrode 226 located in theswitchable shielding area 220 c, and the first control electrode 224 hasa plurality of openings 224 a. In a preferred embodiment, the secondcontrol electrode 226 is a ring-shaped electrode and may be has not anyopenings, for example.

As indicated in FIG. 4, the area occupied by the display area 210 a issubstantially equal to a total area occupied by the 3D image controlarea 220 a and the switchable shielding area 220 c. Besides, an inneredge of the non-display area 210 b of the LCD panel 210 and an inneredge of the non-display area 220 b of the switchable barrier 220 aresubstantially aligned to each other, and the switchable shielding area220 c is located above a portion of the display area 210 a.

In the present embodiment, the switchable shielding area 220 c has awidth W₃, and a minimum distance between the first black matrix 212 andthe switchable shielding area 220 c is D₃, wherein

W ₃ /D ₃ ≧W _(H) /D _(H).

Here, W_(H) is about (or namely approximately) half of a width of thedisplay area 210 a. D_(H) is a predetermined viewing distancesubstantially identical to a distance from eyes of the user to an innersurface of one substrate in the LCD panel 210.

In the switchable 2D/3D display of the present invention, the areaoccupied by the 3D image control area in the switchable barrier issubstantially different from the area occupied by the display area inthe LCD panel. Hence, the unfavorable visual effects occurring on edgesof images displayed on the switchable 2D/3D display of the presentinvention can be prevented.

Although the present invention has been disclosed by the aboveembodiments, they are not intended to limit the present invention.Anybody skilled in the art may make some modifications and alterationswithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.Therefore, the protection range of the present invention falls in theappended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A switchable two dimensional/three dimensionaldisplay (2D/3D display), suitable for being viewed by a user, theswitchable 2D/3D display comprising: a liquid crystal display panelhaving a display area, a non-display area surrounding the display area,and a first black matrix extending from the display area to thenon-display area, wherein the first black matrix has a plurality ofopenings arranged in array and merely distributed within the displayarea; and a switchable barrier having a three dimensional image controlarea, a non-display area surrounding the three dimensional image controlarea, and a second black matrix merely disposed within the non-displayarea, wherein the second black matrix surrounds the three dimensionalimage control area, an area occupied by the three dimensional imagecontrol area is different from an area occupied by the display area, andthe liquid crystal display panel and the switchable barrier areoverlapped with each other.
 2. The switchable 2D/3D display of claim 1,wherein the area occupied by the three dimensional image control area issmaller than the area occupied by the display area.
 3. The switchable2D/3D display of claim 2, wherein the second black matrix is locatedabove the non-display area and a portion of the display area.
 4. Theswitchable 2D/3D display of claim 3, the second black matrix locatedabove the portion of the display area having a width W₁, a minimumdistance between the first black matrix and the second black matrixbeing D₁, whereinW ₁ /D ₁ ≧W _(H) /D _(H), W_(H) being half of a width of the displayarea, D_(H) being a predetermined viewing distance substantiallyidentical to a distance from eyes of the user to an inner surface of onesubstrate in the liquid crystal display panel.
 5. The switchable 2D/3Ddisplay of claim 1, wherein the liquid crystal display panel is disposedbelow the switchable barrier.
 6. The switchable 2D/3D display of claim1, further comprising a backlight module, wherein the liquid crystaldisplay panel is interposed between the switchable barrier and thebacklight module.
 7. The switchable 2D/3D display of claim 1, whereinthe switchable barrier has a first control electrode located in thethree dimensional image control area, and the first control electrodehas a plurality of openings.
 8. The switchable 2D/3D display of claim 1,wherein the second black matrix is not disposed in the three dimensionalimage control area of the switchable barrier.